Free Traffic Legal Advice

Never, ever, EVER communicate with a useless debt collector. You can safely ignore all debt recovery letters. They are not a party to any contract allegedly breached by the driver.

However, you obviously failed to update the V5C registration document when you changed address. Updating a drivers licence does NOT automatically update the V5C. What I advise the Keeper to do immediately is to update the address on the V5C. Also send a Data Rectification Notice (DRN) to the parking operators DPO (ignore DRP) and instruct them to update the Keepers current address for service and to erase the old address. The highlighted words are there for a reason and you should use them.

We do not need to see any debt recovery letters and you can shred them and use them as Hamster bedding for all anyone cares. The Keeper should email Carlow Ltd, the car park operator, and make a formal complaint, which should be treated as an appeal, and require them to provide a copy of the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) and to also prove that it was posted to arrive within the "relevant period". Explain that presumption of delivery is rebuttable and unless they can provide proof of posting or delivery, then the contrary is proved as per PoFA para 9(6).

Once you have a copy if the original NtK, we can then decide on the best course of action.

They can only make a single request for DVLA data. They can't go back again later. If the V5C was not up to date at the time or just after the alleged contravention, then they would have the old data.

You are in a strong position. Even on Carflow’s own timeline, the NtK wording defeats keeper liability.

Where this leaves you:
Keeper liability fails because the NtK misstates PoFA Sch 4 para 9(2)(f). It says “after 29 days from the given date” and targets the registered keeper. PoFA requires “after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given” and it applies to the keeper. This defect alone prevents transfer of liability.

Further defects for belt and braces:

Address point:
PoFA paras 9(4) to 9(6) require posting to a current address for service and deem delivery two working days after posting. Consignment numbers show sending, not that they used your current service address. You do not need to win this argument because the para 9(2)(f) defect is fatal on its own.

Next steps:
Write to Carflow as keeper only and require a POPLA code despite any alleged lateness, citing their legal misstatements and the address issue. If they refuse or keep using debt collectors without ADR, complain to the BPA AOS.

Send a Data Rectification Notice (DRN) if they used an old address. Instruct their DPO to update their records with your current address for service and to erase any other addresses they hold for you, and ask for written confirmation. The highlighted words are there for a reason, so use them.

Ignore debt collectors as they are not a party. Only engage if you receive a Letter of Claim (LoC) or a court claim.

Are these relevant, as the PCN relates to overstaying in a free carpark, so there was no charge to pay on-site?

The car park is only free if drivers comply with the terms and conditions. If they do not, parking costs £100, hence the PCN. The 'charges in respect of the specified period of parking' and the 'unpaid parking charges' refer to the £100 being demanded by the parking company. Therefore b789's references are still relevant.

We have another letter from Diret Collectins Bariliffs Ltd, attached. Please let me know if the links do not work.

https://ibb.co/KzGxgdtj

https://ibb.co/xy70Vfn

Carflow have replied to my email. They are not inclined to drop the charge and I am very nervous about impending further action. They have not issued a POPLA code.  Your advice would be very gratefully received.:

"Thank you for getting in touch with Carflow again.

We are satisfied that the Notice to Keeper issued is compliant with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 for the purpose of keeper liability. The terminology used on our documentation, (including references to the keeper, the registered keeper, and the unpaid parking charges), is consistent with our standard templates and accepted industry practice.

With regard to delivery, the notices were sent to the address provided by the DVLA at the time of the request, which is the address recognised for service under PoFA. Consignment details confirm that the notices were issued in line with our processes. PoFA deems delivery two working days after posting, and there is no evidence to suggest that the notices were not delivered.

As previously advised, the charge has now progressed to our appointed debt recovery agents because it was not paid within the required timeframes. All further communication and payment arrangements should now be directed to them.

You have now reached the end of our internal appeals procedure, any future correspondence you may send to us regarding this appeal will be noted but we will not respond"

For your info, the email I had sent to them read as follows:

"Please provide a POPLA code for my complaint, despite any alleged lateness.
There are legal misstatements in your response.  In particular, the Notice to Keeper misstates PoFA Sch 4 para 9(2)(f). It says “after 29 days from the given date” and targets the registered keeper. PoFA requires “after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given” and it applies to the keeper.
In addition: • Para 9(2)(b) is not properly stated because it does not clearly say “charges in respect of the specified period of parking” or that they “have not been paid in full”. • Para 9(2)(e) invites payment of “this PCN” rather than “the unpaid parking charges”. • You repeatedly use “registered keeper” instead of “keeper”. • You threaten to pursue the keeper if a named person denies being the driver, which misstates the law and breaches PPSCoP v1.1 clause 8.1.1(d).

Also,  PoFA paras 9(4) to 9(6) require posting to a current address for service and deem delivery two working days after posting. Consignment numbers show sending, not that you used the current service address. "

Thank you agaian for your help.

You were told this in reply #1 and it remains correct: debt recovery letters are meaningless noise. DCBL are not a party to any alleged contract and they cannot take legal action. They exist to intimidate the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying. So stop feeding the thread with debt collector letters, stop worrying about them, and either shred them or use them as toilet paper if that helps make the point. Nothing turns on what DCBL write.

The only time you need to engage is if (a) Carflow issue a proper LoC, or (b) a court claim is issued. Until then, the only communications worth making are to Carflow and their DPO, to force correction of the address for service, and to nail them on their failed attempt to rely on presumed service and keeper liability.

If you are anxious, it is because you don’t yet understand the process. That anxiety is exactly what debt recovery letters are designed to exploit. Replace fear with knowledge: ignore DCBL entirely and focus on making Carflow prove what they can’t prove.

Reply to Carflow with the following:

Subject: Formal complaint and dispute – no keeper liability – data rectification and ADR required

I write as the Registered Keeper. This is a formal complaint which must be treated as an appeal.

1. Your “deemed delivery” assertion is not established
Your email asserts that PoFA “deems delivery two working days after posting”. That is not a substitute for proving service.

The statutory presumption of service arises only where you can evidence that the Notice to Keeper was properly addressed to the Keeper’s current address for service, pre-paid, and posted by first class (or an equivalent 1–2 day service). That is the basis of the presumption in s.7 Interpretation Act 1978 and it is the foundation you would need before you can seek to rely on any “deemed delivery” argument.

Consignment numbers do not prove proper addressing, pre-payment, or posting. At best they show an item entered a mail stream. They are not a proof of posting receipt and they do not establish the address used or the class of post/service used.

Further, the Private Parking Single Code of Practice requires that a notice intended to invoke keeper liability is sent by first class (or an equivalent 1–2 day service) (PPSCoP section 8.1.2(e) Note 2). If you maintain you complied, you must provide strict proof of:

(a) the full address used (showing it was the current address for service), and
(b) the method/class of post (first class or equivalent 1–2 day service), and
(c) proof of posting (receipt or equivalent).

In the absence of that evidence, your claim to presumed/deemed delivery is not made out.

2. “Current address for service” means current address for service – not an historic address
PoFA paragraph 9(4) is explicit: a Notice to Keeper must be sent to a current address for service for the keeper. Posting to an old address is not compliance with PoFA 9(4) and cannot be used to create keeper liability. The Keeper will rebut any presumption of service by confirming that the Keeper did not reside at the address you used at the material time and did not receive your notices.

If you maintain that the address you used was a current address for service at the time, you must prove it.

3. Your Notice to Keeper wording defeats keeper liability in any event
Even on your own account, your Notice to Keeper uses non-PoFA wording (“after 29 days from the given date”) and incorrectly targets the “registered keeper”. PoFA paragraph 9(2)(f) requires the specific 28-day formulation (“after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given”) and it concerns the “keeper”. Your template misstates the statutory warning and cannot transfer liability.

4. Misleading statements about liability and process
It is not acceptable to state, as a blanket position, that you are “PoFA compliant” while using wording that is not compliant and while relying on “accepted industry practice”. PoFA compliance is a legal test, not a matter of template preference.

Likewise, your instruction that I must deal with your debt collector is rejected. Debt collectors are not a party to any alleged contract and have no standing to determine liability or ADR. This complaint/appeal remains directed to you as the operator.

5. Data rectification notice (address for service)
Treat this paragraph as a Data Rectification Notice. You are instructed to:

(a) update your records immediately to the Keeper’s correct current address for service (as already provided to you), and
(b) erase any old/incorrect address you hold for the Keeper, and
(c) confirm in writing that this has been done, and that all future correspondence (including any Letter of Claim or claim form) will be served only at the corrected address.

6. ADR/POPLA code required
You state “end of internal appeals procedure” and refuse to respond further. That is not acceptable in circumstances where:

• you posted to an address that was not the Keeper’s current address for service, and
• your own Notice to Keeper wording misstates PoFA 9(2)(f), and
• you are asserting keeper liability.

Accordingly, either:

(a) cancel the charge, or
(b) issue a POPLA verification code so the Keeper can refer the matter to independent ADR.

If you refuse ADR and continue to process data and threaten court action while relying on defective keeper liability assertions, I will escalate a formal complaint to the BPA and reserve the right to rely on your position and your template misstatements in any later proceedings on costs and conduct.

For the avoidance of doubt: the Keeper will not communicate with any debt recovery agent. If you or your agents believe there is a cause of action, the only correspondence that requires a response is a compliant Letter of Claim or a court claim.

Yours faithfully,

[Keeper name]
[Current address for service]

That is the position. Ignore the toilet paper letters; watch for an LoC or claim.

This is the reply received on 15/12, treating our email as an appeal not a complaint.

"Thank you for contacting Carflow regarding your appeal. Your appeal has been received and will be dealt with by our appeals team. If you have not done so already, please provide all evidence necessary for us to consider your appeal. This will ensure a quicker outcome.

We aim to contact you with a decision within 28 days. We may also contact you if we require clarification. Please add appeals@carflow.co.uk to your email address book to prevent our emails going to your spam folder.

The amount of the charge will remain fixed whilst the appeal is being considered. If you have an appeal which is unsuccessful you will be given additional time to pay. If you have appealed during the discounted payment period and your appeal is unsuccessful, you will be given an additional 14 days to pay at the discounted rate.
Please do not reply to this email. This e-mail was sent from an unmonitored email address. If you wish to contact Carflow about your appeal, please e-mail appeals@carflow.co.uk."

Should I send another?